Principal Street Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Principal Street Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,258 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 752 shares during the quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,190,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $440.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -200.30, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The business's 50 day moving average is $481.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.04.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.